Acoustics Consultancy for Cardiff University refurbishment of teaching spaces
Drama by Design was appointed by Stride Treglown on behalf of Cardiff University to provide specialist acoustic consultancy services in relation to the proposed remodelling of 50–51 Park Place in Cardiff. The scheme involves significant alterations to the internal layout and use of the buildings, including the removal of numerous separating walls, retention of selected elements, installation of new partitions, and the retention of existing separating floors. The refurbished accommodation will provide new seminar rooms and associated teaching spaces, requiring careful consideration of acoustic performance to ensure suitability for higher education use.
The site comprises two distinct but connected buildings, including a further extension to 51 Park Place. No. 50 Park Place is a former Victorian terraced house that was long ago converted to office and student use. Its construction reflects its domestic origins, with timber joist floors and masonry external walls. No. 51 Park Place was originally constructed as a double-height student assembly hall. It has since been substantially altered, first by inserting a new intermediate floor to create ground and first storeys, and subsequently by adding an additional floor above the original roof level. The external walls are of heavy masonry construction, and some internal walls are also heavy masonry; however, within the main converted assembly hall building many of the internal partitions are lightweight plasterboard constructions. The floors in No. 51 therefore comprise two quite different construction types, and while full historical construction details were not available, site inspections were undertaken as far as practicable to inform our assessment.
Given the extent of the remodelling and the change in room function, understanding the acoustic performance of these retained elements was essential. Drama by Design carried out a detailed programme of airborne and impact sound insulation testing to establish the existing performance of the separating floors and selected walls. This provided baseline data to determine whether the retained constructions were capable of meeting the performance expectations for seminar and teaching spaces, or whether upgrades would be required.
The testing process enabled us to identify key sound transmission paths within the structure, including potential flanking transmission through junctions, lightweight partitions within the former assembly hall, and the timber joist floors within No. 50. The differing construction types between the two buildings required careful analysis, particularly where new layouts introduced sensitive adjacencies between seminar rooms and circulation areas.
Alongside the testing programme, we advised on appropriate sound insulation standards for university buildings, drawing on best practice guidance for higher education environments where speech intelligibility, privacy, and control of disturbance are critical. Our recommendations were developed to balance performance requirements with the practical constraints of adapting and retaining significant elements of an existing building.
By combining measured acoustic data, site investigation, and detailed analysis of transmission mechanisms, Drama by Design supported the design team in developing a clear and robust acoustic strategy for the refurbishment. Our input ensures that the remodelled 50–51 Park Place building will deliver seminar and teaching spaces with appropriate acoustic separation, supporting effective learning while respecting the structural and architectural character of the existing buildings.
